1Overview

Node Expense: Track Together ("we", "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what data Node Expense collects, how it is used, and what choices you have when using Node Expense.

2Data We Collect

Automatically collected data is used only to improve stability, performance, and user experience.

Subscriptions & Payments

Purchases and subscriptions are processed by Apple and RevenueCat. We do not receive your credit card or payment details. RevenueCat stores anonymous subscriber identifiers to manage your subscription status, "Lifetime" access, and free trial period. This data is retained as long as necessary to verify PRO feature access across device reinstalls and is processed independently of your Group Expense cloud data.

3Third-Party Services

4AI-Assisted Receipt Scanning (Pick & Pay)

Pick & Pay is a group-only feature and is not available for personal (non-group) expenses. When you tap Pick & Pay while adding a group expense, the receipt photo you take or select is sent to Google's Gemini API (via Firebase AI Logic) to extract the individual line items, prices, tax, and merchant name. The extracted data is returned to you so you can assign each item to a member of the group.

No receipt images are sent to Google unless you actively use Pick & Pay.

What is sent

• A compressed copy of the receipt image
• A fixed parsing instruction to the model

What is NOT sent

• Your name, group membership, payment handles, or any other identifying information about you or your contacts
• Other expenses, group history, or any data outside the receipt image itself

How Google handles the data

Node Expense uses the paid tier of the Gemini API. Per Google's Gemini API Additional Terms of Service, Google does not use your prompts, images, or responses to train or improve its products. Google may briefly log requests for security, abuse prevention, and compliance purposes, after which they are discarded. Receipts are processed and not retained by Google as user data.

Usage limits

To keep the subscription price flat, we cap the number of Pick & Pay scans each PRO subscriber can perform per month. You can check your remaining scans any time under Settings → Subscription → Pick & Pay credits.

Photo persistence after scanning

After a successful Pick & Pay scan, the receipt photo is automatically attached to the group expense as the receipt photo (a PRO benefit). It is uploaded and visible to other members of the same group, consistent with the receipt-photo behaviour described elsewhere in this policy.

Opting out

Pick & Pay is entirely optional. You can split group expenses using any of the other split modes (Equal, By %, By $) without sending any data to the Gemini API. If you never use Pick & Pay, no receipt images are sent to Google.

5Ads

Node Expense is supported by advertisements for users on the free tier. These may include interstitial ads when reaching monthly limits, or optional rewarded ads to unlock additional expense slots.

To support our free tier, we may ask for your permission to deliver more relevant ads using Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework. If you decline, you will still see the same number of ads, but they will be less relevant to you. Choosing to allow or deny this does not grant advertisers access to your financial records, your on-device personal data, or your cloud-synced group expenses.

6Location Data

Location data is optional and only collected if you explicitly enable it in Settings. When enabled, your location is recorded with new expenses. Location data is stored locally on your device and is not uploaded to cloud services. You can disable location access at any time in iOS Settings.

7Calendar Access

Node Expense only accesses the calendars you select. Calendar access is used solely to display and sync expense entries as calendar events. Calendar data is never shared with third parties.

8Data Storage, Retention & Encryption

8.1 On-Device Storage

The following data is stored in your iPhone:

• Personal (non-group) expense records
• Personal expense receipt photos (PRO subscription feature; never uploaded to any cloud service)
• App settings and preferences
• Local copies of group data for offline access
• Cached group expenses for offline viewing

Personal expense data — including any attached receipt photos — never leaves your device unless you explicitly export or back it up. Expenses from deleted groups are retained locally with a 'deleted group' marker.

8.2 Cloud Storage for Group Features

For group features, selected data is synced to Firebase Firestore (and Firebase Storage for photos):

• Group documents (name, description, icon, members, permissions, share code)
• Group expenses (amount, category, note, date, location if enabled, payer identity)
• Group expense receipt photos (compressed JPEG, stored in Firebase Storage and visible to all members of the group; PRO subscription feature)
• User profile photos (compressed JPEG, stored in Firebase Storage; readable by any authenticated user, writable only by the photo's owner; visible to all members of every group you join; PRO subscription feature)
• Group photos (compressed JPEG, stored in Firebase Storage; readable by all members of that group, writable only by the group admin; visible to all members of the group; PRO subscription feature)
• Group settlements (payment records between members)
• Group deletion requests and member votes
• Trial start dates (for reinstall recovery)
• Push notification tokens (FCM)
• Optional payment handles for settle-up deep links (Venmo, Cash App, PayPal.me usernames)
• Pick & Pay scan tracking — a small per-account record of how many scans you've made this month and whether your trial freebie has been used. Used to enforce per-account monthly limits and to show you your remaining scans in Settings. Contains no information about the contents of any receipt.
• Group activity history — a record of every action performed in the group (expenses added, edited, refunded, or deleted; members who joined, left, or were removed). This data is stored in Firebase Firestore and is automatically and permanently deleted after 90 days. Activity older than 90 days cannot be recovered.

8.3 Encryption & Backups

• Users with feature access may enable encrypted backups using AES-256-GCM encryption
• You control how long expense records are retained (all time or a limited number of years)
• Backup files are exported to a location you choose (iCloud Drive, On My Device, or other iOS Files locations)
• Backup encryption keys are stored exclusively in your iCloud Keychain, never transmitted to our servers, and are not accessible to us as developers

Backup scope: Backups and exports cover your locally stored personal expense records and cached group metadata. Live group expense data stored in Firebase Firestore is not included in local device backups — it remains accessible via Firestore as long as the group exists and has not been deleted.

9Data Migration

Users with feature access (PRO subscription or active free trial) may export their data as JSON, CSV, or PDF, and import data in JSON format. Node Expense does not have access to your exported files. Exported files are saved to a location you choose. Note that exports include locally stored personal expense records and cached group data; they do not pull live data directly from Firebase Firestore.

10Data Deletion

• Delete individual or all personal expenses from within Node Expense
• Leave or request deletion of a group — group data is removed from Firebase when all members agree
• Group expenses marked as 'keep on deletion' remain on your device locally; they are not re-uploaded
• When a group is deleted with 'remove records' selected, every receipt photo for that group is also deleted from Firebase Storage. When 'keep records' is chosen, the photos remain in Firebase Storage so original members can still view them on their own devices.
• Removing a receipt photo from a group expense (via the Edit screen) deletes the underlying file from Firebase Storage.
• Deleting an itemised (Pick & Pay) expense removes the line-item detail along with the expense.
• Deleting the auto-attached Pick & Pay receipt photo (via the Edit screen) removes both the local copy and the copy in Firebase Storage that other group members can see.
• Updating your profile photo overwrites the previous photo in Firebase Storage. Choosing "Remove Photo" deletes it from Firebase Storage. The photo is also no longer visible to other members of any group you've joined once removed, though existing devices may retain a cached copy until next sync.
• Updating or removing a group photo works the same way: updating overwrites the existing photo in Firebase Storage, and choosing "Remove Photo" deletes it. Only the group admin can perform these actions. The photo is also deleted from Firebase Storage when the group itself is deleted, regardless of which deletion option is chosen.
• Group admins can prune inactive groups directly from Settings → Data & Privacy → Inactive Groups. A group is eligible for pruning after 6 months of inactivity with all debts settled. When an admin initiates deletion, all affected group members receive a push notification identifying who deleted the group. The admin may choose to export group expenses, retain them locally, or delete them entirely before the group is removed from Firebase.
• Uninstalling Node Expense removes all locally stored data from your device

Note: Firebase group data may persist until the group is formally deleted through the in-app deletion flow.

11Children's Privacy

Node Expense is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us.

12Your Rights

• Disable location access in iOS Settings
• Revoke calendar access in iOS Settings
• Delete your local expense data within Node Expense
• Export your data before deleting
• Request group deletion (removes group data from Firebase for all members)
• As a group admin, prune inactive groups (6+ months inactive, all debts settled) from Settings → Data & Privacy → Inactive Groups, with a choice to export, keep locally, or delete all group expenses
• Cancel your subscription at any time through Apple App Store settings
• Stop using backups or encrypted exports at any time

13Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected by the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document. Continued use of Node Expense after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14Contact